But given that India is now the world’s largest contributor to Covid-19 cases, a lockdown could act as a necessary circuit breaker. On April 22, India reported over 330,000 new cases of Covid-19. Hospitals across the country are overburdened and running critically low on oxygen, there is a shortage of drugs, and there aren’t enough Indians vaccinated to prevent even serious disease in a large population of 1.3 billion.

So far, the government has asked states to consider “micro containment” zones within their cities to curb the spread.

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